A review by limina
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

 This book is a slow burn, so be patient. It was originally serialized on the Reddit forum r/nosleep, which lends to the narrative feeling different than average, mainstream published books. I originally listened to this on the NoSleep podcast, so it was interesting to revisit the story in a different format. 
 This story does the backwards-forwards in time format, which at times I did find hard to follow; I think it feels what way because it was originally serialized. Each chapter is likely each entry in the series. The story itself mostly covers the narrator's childhood and unsettling things that happened to him. I will say that I found adding content warnings to this, so I'll throw in an obscured description. All in all, be patient. The end is stomach churning and breathtaking.
 
The main character is stalked by an unknown man for a number of years. It is understood that the man is a pedophile but no sexual acts ever take place. All the same, it's very upsetting, especially when all is revealed.
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